Statements from the newly elected InfraRoom Steering Committee
In the April newsletter we introduced you to the newly elected InfraRoom Steering Committee. The Room Steering Committees are the executive body that set the long term plan for the domain because they are from the industry and understand the challenges that can be solved with digital ways of working. They own the long-term Roadmap and they oversee the projects that deliver against that Roadmap.
Following the committees first meeting, Tiina Perttula was re-elected as Chairwoman of the IRSC and Jim Plume re-elected as Deputy Chairman. We wish the committee every success in this significant juncture of the rooms history as we approach the publication of the IFC4.3 standard and further develop the next wave of Infrastructure projects.
This month we share with you statements from the newly elected members. We asked what motivated them to seek election and what they would like to focus on during their term on the committee.
Marion Schenkwein
Väylävirasto / Finland
In the different positions I’ve been during my career so far, I have seen the infrastructure domain from many viewpoints. Although the daily chores may vary depending on whether you are a site manager, a software specialist, a designer or an infrastructure manager, I’m convinced that one thing stays in common: all benefit from standardization. The loss of information, re-work and poorly defined processes are problems common to all stakeholders but can be significantly reduced by the use of an infrastructure specific data exchange specification. Not only should we support the development and deployment of standard extensions but also progress a life cycle OpenBIM approach including the needs of asset management.
Jürgen Litsch
Strabag / Germany
BIM requires standardization - not only nationally but also internationally. This is in line with the requirements of the construction industry. The Steering Committee of the Infrastructure Room of bSI offers an optimal basis for this development, as the members are internationally composed of the different stakeholders and can significantly advance the development of open standards via the roadmap as well as individual projects. There are two core areas:
- Standardization of classes and attributes
Digitalization and BIM enable tremendous improvements in productivity through automation. This requires both standardized processes and guidelines for collaboration, across all organizations, as well as the necessary common data basis, in particular regarding objects with their classes and attributes
- Further development of the IFC interface
When it comes to public contracts, we often have a strict separation between planning and execution. This leads to major problems in BIM processing, as the models we receive from the planner cannot be changed by the executing company.
I am really looking forward to working with international colleges on these issues.
Anna Neidenström
Trafikverket / Sweden
With more than 20 years of experience, working in different positions in the construction industry I truly believe that Open standards is the key to communication and collaboration. With my engagement in the InfraRoom steering committee I hope to assist in the continued work enabling scalable interoperability for data standards, tool and technologies to the industry. I feel very privileged to be part of this transformation that will move construction forward introducing efficient workflows and new opportunities.
Marek Suchocki
Autodesk / UK
My role as an industry engagement lead in Autodesk involves regular interaction with infrastructure projects, owners and stakeholders, as well as representation in industry committees and standards bodies. As a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers I have a strong desire to see progress in my industry sector, especially related to adoption of digital processes and technologies. Since the late 1990s I have been involved as a member of the UK Chapter of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) that became buildingSMART in 2005 and always campaigned to have a greater focus on how open standards can be applied to the infrastructure sector. Being elected to the IRSC will hopefully give me a greater chance to influence the development of IFC for infrastructure, cooperate with other standards bodies and ensure open standards are fit for purpose as well as practical to implement in the real world.
Roland Moser
SBB / Switzerland
At SBB, the Swiss Federal Railway Company, BIM is one of the future core processes. We will digitize the processes of planning, construction, and operation of all our rail infrastructure assets and aim to introduce BIM by 2021 for building construction and for the rest of our assets by 2025.
As we develop BIM within SBB, we already execute BIM pilot projects. These are real construction projects across all asset classes that offer specific use cases with respect to norms and standards, processes, people, data, systems and supply chain.
We contribute actively in international and national standard setting bodies and involve the construction industry in an early stage, hence, being elected to the IRSC, will greatly help SBB and the Swiss construction industry on their BIM journeys.